Spud



sept. 1, 1937.

H. A. MUSHAM SPUD Filed March 16, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet; 1

H. A. MUSHAM SPUD Filed March 16, 1936 2 sheets-shed z Septa. 7, 1937.

7 5 l E I au EEK Hdl/SE Patented Sept. 57,' 1937 10 Ciaims.

" (Granted under the act of -March 3, 1883, as

` "famellded April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) This invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, Without lthe' payment to meof anyroyalty thereon.

This inventionpertains to ,improvements iny spuds,v forfloating Vbarges. or other craft, Where it is required-to'anchor'the same in shallow water.

v,The principalz'object ofthe invention is to proviea'v Spud which when notfin use will extend necessity for opening 1ow clearance bridges. v, Another-object of "theinvention is to increase the'operative 'length'o'f the'spud without sacrificing clearance abovejthe deck. 1 .fWith thesev andotlier.' objects in View this` inventionconsists inljce'tain novel'details of construction, combinat' nand arrangement .ofparts tobe .more partie lalyf `,l'iereinafterV described negciaimed.,,Qg o l. Referring to the aoco ,opanying` drawings in Which'coresponding parts'are indicated by similartreference-characters: Q '.Fig showsV ahiill brokenA away centrally4 to displayja Spud wellicontainng a. telescopic spud in'retractedpositionp.,C. 'j l',

I Fig. 2..f is a'similar view to Figure 1` showing the leosfcopi'c. Spud with' ,the interiormain section thereoffraised 4above the deck; y fQFig". `3, isola vsimilar view to Figs.; .andy 2fshoW- in`g`both the"mainQandjextensiOn telescopic sections ofsth'e "spudfloweredtofa position"where theexterliorsection engages the bottom] of the' stream;y

f Fig.,V vLil ,shows to displayjas'pud Well 'conta' Y asection of a hull broken away n ing a Vmodied d i ofltelescopic Spud;V i .l

showsahmlbroken away centrally to .displayaspud' well containing another modified form ofgspud inr which the sectionsare hingeably ,40 unitcdi 'VFi'g., 6 a" lanrviewoi thewlatclhing mechilYLfShQV .1, Figs?, 2?9191 n3 utilized ,for loldingftheexterior telescopicfse'ctionin elevated -positi'onfand Y, 4 y I -V Y "7 is oss-'section -takenialong the line -1--1 of Fig. vshowing' the" interior of the't'ele- 'scopicsectorisf" 1f?- -Heret'ofore Vspu'cls'@were usually constructed` in one solid or hollow post throughouttheir: entire length and' consequently extended for some distance above Athe' structure of the craft when not muse," thus preventing. the 'craft from passing 'under bridgesn of low clearance, and it was pri- 3 finarilyto avoid thiscumbersome andincon- P? .venientzfconstrucaonfthattne'Spud which forms only slightly` above'the craft and thus avoid theV the'subject matter of this invention rwas designed. Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3,' thenumeral (I) y indicates the hull of a dredge or similar type of "STATES PATENT OFFICE g watercraft, (2) the cabin or deck house and 5 (3) a spud well, which maybe anged at its upper and lower extremities for attachment to the i hull. Within the spud well (3) a telescopic type of spud v(4) is slidably mounted.. The spud (4) is made up of a main and an extensiontelescopic section, indicated respectively by the numerals (5) and (5),' the formersection being slidably mounted'withinlthe latter. Theinner or main section. (5) is provided at its lower extremity with a disc ('I) which tssli-dably Within the extension section (6)and section (6) is provided at its upper extremity with-an internal annular rim (8) in which the interior section (5) is slidably. tted. The disc ('I) and ther internalan- ,nular` Irim V(8) are. provided to preventV separation of.'v the sections (5) and .(6) vwhen-the spud is v extended to full length, however otherforms of vterior,circumferenceof lthe main or Vinterior teleo.

scopic-section (5). This engine (9) is adapted ItoA raise and lower the spud Aas desired. AThe* up- .per extremity of, the interior'telescopic 'section I'(5) isfdrilvled for the receptionof. a pin (I3) which is longer than the interior diametenofv the spud well and provided to insure the inner section from beingl accidentally droppedthrough Athe Welly .whenit is inglposition.. o

The upper portion of the spud well is provided v.with a collarI IA) on which is mounted an eccentricflatchingdevice (.15) utilized Vto hold the extension section (6)1 in*v elevated position withink the; wellgwhen not;` in use. vThis latching device,

.shownin plan .yiewin Fig. 6, comprises acircular o ldiscl ('40) providedjwith a radially extending hanbrought to its'lowest voperatdle (4I), the disc being rotatably mountedon a Y yspud,fas` the handle-(4I )is Yrotated in a clockwise direction, 4and lthus "produce a. wedging `action, ,5

which when applied at any location along the extent of the spud section (6) will lock the section (6) to prevent longitudinal movement thereof.

When it is desired to put the spud into operation the hoisting engine or winch (9) having the driving pinion (II) which meshes with the rack (I2) as described above, moves the inner telescopic or main section (5) upward to its full extent, in which position the inner disk (l) contacts the collar (8). To lower the spud into operative position the latching mechanism (I5) is first released, the engine is then reversed, and the spud lowered until its lower end embeds itself in the bottom of the stream, in which position it holds the craft in place. When it is desired to release the craft the hoisting engine raises the inner or main section (5) of the spud toits highest position. The extension section (6) is'then locked in elevated position by the latching device (I5), and the inner main section is lowered into the outer or extension section. l

A modied form of telescopic spud is shown in Fig. 4. In this type of spud the main section (5') is raised and lowered by means of a pinion (I I) and the extension section (8') by a screw (I6). The pinion (I I) which raises and lowers the main section (5') by engagement with the rack (I2) is keyed to the driven shaft of a hoisting engine (9), as described above, but which is not shown in this figure.

In this type of spud the inner or extension section (9') is moved longitudinally along the central axis of the main section (5') by means of a screw (I6) which is rotatably mounted centrally within the body of the spud. The upper extremity of the main section is fitted with a bearing member (I'I) through which the upper unthreaded portion (I8) of the screw (I6) projects. This unthreaded portion of the screw is held within said bearing by the annular collars (I8) and (I8') which prevent longitudinal movement of the screw. The portion (20) of the screw which projects above the upper collar (I8) is squared so as to be readily turned by means of a wr-ench or hand wheel or a gear which may be connected to an electric motor. The inner extension section (5') at'its upper extremity is tted with an internally threaded circular bearing member (2|) which fits the threads of the screw (I6) and a similar internally threaded circular member (22) is rigidly fitted to the interior of the extension section (6') at about midway its length. Below the internally threaded member (22) the screw is provided with a collar (31) to preventY accidental separation of the main and extension sections (5') and (6'). The extension section (6') is provided with laterally projecting guide pieces (23) and (24) which move in the slotted path provided between the semicircular members (25) and (26), fitted within the interiorof the main section (5'). By this construction the extension section can only have longitudinal movement, and thus the rotation of the screw which is fitted in the bearing members (24|) and (22), causes this section to move longitudinally'in either direction depending on the direction of rotation of the screw.

Thus in the operation of the device, the turning of the screw by a wrench or hand wheel or a small electric motor, mounted on the top of the main section (5'), lowers and raises the extension section (6') while the main section of the spud which is ttedwith a rack (I2) is hoisted or lowered by the engine (9) in the same manner as the spud described in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. When using the spud the main section is lowered to its full length, and then if further length of spud is required the screw (I6) is revolved by any of the means stated above and the extension section is lowered until its lower end embeds itself in the bottom of the stream. To release the craft the main section is hoisted by the hoisting engine and then the eX- tension section is elevated by operation of the screw (I6).

Another modification of the improved spud is shown in Fig. 5. This typev of spud may be made with two or more sections united by hinged joints (29)?. The sections are provided with racks so that they can be readily raised and lowered by a hoisting engine which rotates a driving pinion in mesh with said racks, as were the main sections of the spuds described above.

The spud illustrated in Fig. 5 is provided with two sections (21) and (28) which are projected downwardly through the spud well (3) and elevated therethrough by means of the engine (9) which rotates the pinion (9) engaging the racks (I2) As the upper section (2l) of the spud is elevated through the well (3) and is then reclined across the roof of the deck house, it is necessary that the spud bend in the locality of upper front end of the deck house; soin order to prevent damage tothe deck house and to relieve friction between the same and the spud, rollers (30) are provided as shown in Fig.` 5.

To put the spud intooperation it is necessary to raise the upper section to a vertical position by hydraulic hoists (not shown) similar to those used on motor trucks. The two sections are then projected through thespud well until the lower section issuiciently embedded in the bottom of the stream to anchor the craft. In raising the spud it is necessary to use the hydraulic hoists to lower the l,upper section onto the roof ofthe deck house. i v Y It `will be apparent that Ythe above described mechanisms may be altered and the arrangement changed in various ways, The telescopic cylindersv composing the spud sections may be of the k hydraulic type,` in which case the hoisting engine would be substituted by an engine driven pump. Other similar modifications are `possible but such modications do not constitute a departure from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

,Having 'described myV invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An anchoring device for watercraft composed of a multiplicity of foldable sectionsadapted for slidable movement through said well, operating means, and means in connection with said spud adapted to engage'said operating means to move the spud throughsaid spud well.

2`.An anchoring device for watercraft com- 3. An anchoring device for watercraft comprising a spud Well and an eXtensible spud composed of a multiplicity of hingeably united foldable sections adapted for slidable movement through said well, operating means, andgmeans in connection with said spud adapted to engage Y prising a spud well and an extensible spud comj said operating means to move the spud through saidspud well.

, 4. An anchoring device for watercraft comprising a spud well and an eXtensible spud composedl of a multiplicity of hingeably connected foldable sections adapted for slidable movement through said well, operating means, and means in connection with each of said sections adapted to engage said operating means to move the spud through said spud Well.

5. An anchoring device for watercraft comprising a spud well and an extensible spud composed of a multiplicity of foldable sections adapted for slidable movement through said well, operating means, and means comprising a rack in connection with said spud adapted to engage said operating means to move the spud through said spud well.

6. An anchoring device forr watercraft comprising a vertical spud well and an extensible spud composed of a multiplicity of telescopically associated sections adapted for slidable movement through said well, means for locking the outermost telescopic section and means in connection with said spud adapted to engage said operating means to move the spud through said spud well.

7. An anchoring device for Watercraft comprising a spud well and an extensibleV spud composed of aY multiplicity of telescopically associated sections adapted for slidable movement through said Well, means for locking the outermost telescopic section, operating means, and means in connection with said innermost telescopic section adapted to engage said operating means to move the spud through said spud well.

8. An anchoring device for Watercraft comprising a spud well and anY extensible spud composed of a multiplicity of telescopically associated said well, operating means, and means in connection with said outer telescopic section adapted to engage said operating means to move the spud through said spud well, means adapted to move the inner telescopic section Within said outer telescopic section.

9. An anchoring device for Watercraft comprising a spud well and an extensible spud composed of a multiplicity of telescopically associated sections adapted for slidable movement through saidwell, operating means, and means in connection with said outer telescopic section adapted to engage said operating means to move the spud through said spud well, and additional means comprising a screw adapted to move the inner telescopic section within said outer telescopic section.

l0. An anchoring device for watercraft comprising a spud well, a spud operatively mounted in the well with its lower end normally disposed approximately ilush with the lower end of the well, said spud being formed of collapsible sections, and means in connection with said sections ior projecting the lower end of the spud a predetermined distance below the Well, said means including a rack and pinion, the rack being mounted on the spud.

` HARRY A. MUSHAM.

and additional sections adapted for slidable movement through 

